


Trevelyan

by KuraNova



Series: Enduring Knight [2]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Behind the Scenes, Enduring Knight, F/M, Fluff, Inquisitor's Parents, Meet the Family, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-13 12:34:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4522179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuraNova/pseuds/KuraNova
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of stories, short and long, about various characters in the Enduring Knight series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings and Ends

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter takes place in Ostwick long before Evelyn and her brothers are born. It features Adair and Louisa, Evelyn's parents.  
> Hope you all enjoy

His brother was never supposed to die before him, and he certainly had never been expected to become the caretaker of the old estate. It was one of the many reasons he had elected to become a Templar. As a second son of a notable Free Marcher noble, there was little else for Adair to have done with his life but to dedicate it to the Chantry, or live off of his eldest brother's good graces long enough for him to marry above his station. Not keen on marrying anyone - far too picky, his father had always said - Adair had calmly left the estate one morning, traveled down to the city proper, entered the Chantry and told the Revered Mother exactly what he'd planned to do with his life in service to the Maker.

He still remembered the mild look of disbelief that had transformed her wisened features, and her comment about him perhaps being too old to join the Order. At 16 he was practically ancient by the Templar's recruitment standards, but he had persisted. Finally, the Revered Mother had relented, and sent him off to the Circle to speak to the Knight Commander.

The rest was history, as they say. Adair Trevelyan had risen above his status as second son and adopted the command of the entire Ostwick Circle of Magi  _and_  their Templar caretakers. He maintained a philosophy of firm guidance for his magical charges, and punished cruelty harshly. After a time, the Ostwick Circle became known among mages as a bastion against the Chantry's tight regulation of magic and Templar abuse. It was true that those men and women who would misuse their power over the mages within the Circle often found their careers cut short.

A sharp knock at his door interrupted his reverie, and when he looked up to call the individual inside of his darkened office, they were already throwing open the door.

Adair blinked at the figure in the doorway before his surprise dissolved into a resigned huff.  _Of course_  she would want to speak with him  _now_.  _Of course_  she wouldn't leave him be, even directly after his return from his brother's service.

"Adair" Louisa said crisply, striding into the room. Her soft, blue mage robes swishing quietly behind her as she approached him.

"First Enchanter," he inclined his head toward her, but did not move from his seat. He was both physically and emotionally exhausted, and while it was rude not to rise and greet her, he remained fixed in his petulant state, one ankle resting over his knee and his hands folded in his lap as he reclined in his chair.

Her pale eyes fixed on him, the small crease of a frown forming between her eyebrows.

"You've been holed up in here for hours," she said.

"So? I'm Knight Commander. If I want to sulk in my office, I will."

Louisa snorted, circling his desk to stand beside him and crossing her arms as she leaned her hip against the heavy, wooden table. "You've missed dinner."

"I'll eat in here."

He could practically feel her magic swelling against the Veil in her frustration, her ire rising to match his own emotional turmoil.

"Must you  _always_  be so difficult?" she huffed, pushing herself away from his desk. She was preparing to leave, and Adair found some relief in that. He'd be alone again to think this mess over. He needed silence and time, two things which Louisa was loathe to give him on a good day.

"Must you always find your way into my presence when you're not  _wanted?_ "

She stiffened, and Adair immediately regretted those words. It wasn't Louisa's fault he'd been sulking about since his brother's death, then hiding away in his office since the funeral carriage had left him at the Circle's gates. His First Enchanter had begun to walk away, magic surging and twisting against the Veil as she tried to keep herself from lashing out right back at him when he rose quickly to his feet to go after her.

"Louisa, wait."

She did not turn toward him, but simply turned her head over her shoulder, entire body tense as a bowstring. "Knight Commander?"

Clumsily he grasped her hand on his own, circling her so that they were face to face. She did not look directly at him, settling for staring straight ahead at some spot near his collar. He took her other hand, holding them both aloft in front of him before giving her thin fingers a gentle squeeze.

"I apologize. It's been a very long day, and I know you were only trying to be kind."

Louisa nodded, finally looking up at him after he'd spoken with a fond expression that made something alien and strange flutter to life in his gut. "You're an ass."

Adair nodded with a sigh. "I am an ass, I'll give you that."

Her lips kicked up in a small smile. "But even ill-mannered Knight Commanders must eat something." Louisa paused, as if trying to find the right words. "If you'll allow me to at least feed you, I promise not to bother you for the rest of the evening."

He felt guilty that she offered him freedom of her company as a reward for allowing her to take care of him, and he was going to say as much when she shifted, looping her arm through his to steer him out the door. The intimate contact made his words lodge in his throat, and for a brief moment Adair was certain he'd forgotten how to breathe.

"I never agreed to go with you," he finally managed as she tugged him along out of his office and down the corridor.

"I heard your stomach rumbling. You can fuss at me later for handling you," Louisa replied.

Their footsteps echoed along the stone as they walked, the carpet doing little to cushion the weight of Adair's full suit of armor. By contrast, the only sound Louisa made when she walked was the swishing of her robes. The continued on, listening to the sounds of their steps in silence until they descended the far stairwell of the tower. There were windows here, small and narrow, but they afforded the Knight Commander a view of sea cliffs below and the city of Ostwick in the distance.

At least, they would have, were it not for the darkness outside.

"Has night fallen already?" Adair asked, a bit surprised that he'd lost track of so much time.

Louisa paused as he slowed to peer out the window, barely able to make out the faint glow of torchlight in the city beyond.

"Apprentices came by some time ago to light torches. You were barricaded in your office long before then."

His stomach growled again, and he allowed the First Enchanter to tug him along down the stairs and into the larder. It was empty of all save himself, Louisa, and a fire burning cheerily in the hearth, driving home just how late in the evening it had become if even Cook was nowhere to be found.

She released him from her grip, moving to a low table laden with the half-eaten remains of the feast delivered to the Circle's occupants at dinnertime. He followed, watching her pick up a bit of meat from the side of a roast and pop it into her mouth before gesturing toward the meal. Adair stepped over to the table, eying the food, but unable to muster much of an appetite. Despite his hunger, he felt almost nauseous, and recalled this feeling from the days following his mother's funeral. More in an effort to appease Louisa, he despondently plucked up a chunk of bread.

He was nibbling on it half-heartedly when Louisa moved back to his side, offering him a small earthen mug of tea and wearing a somber expression.

"Perhaps I should have said this before," she began, "but I am sorry - about your brother."

Adair really didn't want to hear this. It'd been the same line all day long, and he was desperate to flee from all of the "sorry's", condolences, and sympathy of the world. "I really don't-"

She ignored him, forging ahead while gripping her fingers together in front of her in a show of nervousness that was decidedly out of character. "If he was half as good a man as you are, the world will be worse for his loss."

He was startled at that, never expecting Louisa to offer such a sentiment to him. Nevertheless, he appreciated her words, despite having heard enough sorrows for one day.

"Thank you," he murmured, looking down into the contents of his mug before setting both it and the bread aside. He felt all of the pressures of his brother's death settle themselves right back down on his shoulders, and he surprised himself by explaining the entire debacle to Louisa.

"With no one else to inherit, the estate falls to me, and as you know, Templars are not supposed to own property - or anything else, for that matter."

"Nevermind what the Chantry says. It's your home. You have a right to keep it," she replied. Thought she was not ignorant of Chantry law, the notion of having a home at all resonated with her strongly, and Adair could scarcely blame her. Louisa's family had deposited her on the doorstep of the Circle when she was six years old without so much as a by-your-leave, and they had never spoken to her or acknowledged her again. She'd been torn from her home, and while the Circle was where she lived, Adair had always suspected that Louisa never considered the tower a home.

"If I do retain ownership," Adair continued, "it's very likely that I will be expelled from the Templars."

"That's ridiculous!" she huffed, setting her mug of tea down on the counter behind her with a resounding thud. "Everyone knows how dedicated you are to the Order and your position as Knight Commander. Why should owning property make you unfit to continue your duties?"

"They would be a distraction, Louisa. You know how the Brothers and Sisters feel about that."

She waved her hand at him dismissively as she stood in front of him, the color high in her cheeks and the vehemence with which she defended his position bringing a faint smile to his features.

"We should both speak to the Revered Mother. She's known you since you were a child. Surely she would understand what kind of position you're in."

"We?" he asked, straightening away from the table on which he'd been leaning.

"Of course," she replied matter-of-factly. "I should be there to vouch for you. I would think my word would hold quite a bit of weight, considering the historical opposition between our two ranks within the Chantry."

He smiled outright at that. "You hope to shock the Revered Mother into allowing me my family's land by giving me a character reference, despite the fact that I'm responsible for keeping mages in a gilded cage and we are supposed to be mortal enemies? I can see how that might be compelling."

She smiled in turn, her voice taking on a much calmer tone than just moments ago. "All mages here know you do your best by us, Adair. I'm sure I am not the only one who would support you if you chose to keep your family home."

He hummed, not really knowing how to respond to that, and a bit too bashful to try.

"Regardless, I will help you if I can. I wouldn't- I mean, we, the mages, wouldn't want to lose you," she continued.

He felt that flutter again, warming him from the inside out at her almost-admission. He'd known Louisa since he'd arrived at the Circle that day, asking the Knight Commander to join the order. From the age of sixteen they'd hounded one another with merciless teasing and heated arguments, but over the years a friendship had formed, and Adair found himself realizing that he didn't want to lose her either. If he were to be expelled from the Order, he would miss his duties and his charges. He would miss helping young mages learn to cope with their abilities and nurturing them as they grew, but he would, without a doubt, miss Louisa the most.

"I wouldn't want to lose you either," he replied finally, voice low and barely audible over the crackle of the fire.


	2. Accidents Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Evelyn accidentally summons a demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love these small little snippets into the Trevelyan's lives. It's great to write them before bed! XD

Michael burst through the doors of the apprentice quarters, breathing heavily and startling every mage within. Adair rounded on him, a firm reprimand on the tip of his tongue until he took in his son’s appearance and felt the cold finger of fear trail down his spine.

“Father!” he breathed, pitching forward to place his hands on his knees as he sucked in lungfuls of air.

Maker, the boy must’ve ran here all the way from the estate.

Adair hurried forward, crouching down to look his son over, checking for any injury that might not have been known without further scrutiny. Satisfied that Michael was uninjured, Adair forced himself to speak.

“What’s wrong, Michael?”

“It’s Evelyn! She-” He blew out another breath. “Ser Hemming told me to come get you right away!”

Adair stood, barking a sharp order at his Knight Captain to continue the conversation he’d been having with one of the Senior Enchanters before turning and hurrying out the door. Michael began to follow him before he ordered him to stay behind as well, and he rushed to the stables to his mount.

The ride was only a few minutes long, made faster by the furious pace he forced upon his horse. He didn’t even allow the animal time to come to a full stop before he was dismounting and running up the steps to the Trevelyan estate proper. When he shoved open the doors and ran into the foyer, he immediately spied his twins, Evelyn and Evan, sitting quietly on one of the settees. Satisfied that the pair were alright, Adair told them to stay where they were before venturing deeper into his home, and was suddenly met with the sight of Louisa bursting out of his office to meet him. She was breathless, fearful looking, and Adair could smell the sulfuric stench of the Fade wafting off of her as she stepped forward toward him.

“Peter is injured, Hemming is seeing to him, and Evelyn summoned a Rage demon in the ballroom.”

Adair blinked, frozen a moment before the message seemed to sink in. His hand went right to the hilt of his sword before Louisa placed her hand on his, stilling the motion.

“It’s gone. I took care of it, but your daughter is obviously upset.”

“And Peter?” Adair asked sharply. Burns from a Rage demon could easily fester and turn into a blood illness that could kill.

“He should be fine. I’ve sent Aaron out for one of the Enchanters to help heal him.”

Adair shook his head, breathing deeply to rid himself of his panic. “I must have passed him on the road.”

Louisa nodded, cocking her head to the side a moment as if listening to something before she nodded back the way he had come - toward the foyer. “Please go talk to Evie, at least until Peter is awake. I haven’t allowed her in the room.”

“You say she summoned the demon?”

She nodded again. “Unintentionally, I’m sure, but I haven’t had the chance to get any details from her.

Adair sucked in another deep breath and blew it out slowly from his nose. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

She waved a hand, turning back toward his office where Peter must have been recovering. “Just go speak to her. We’ll discuss that later.”

Watching his wife disappear from sight through the door, Adair then turned about and made his way back to the entryway only to see the twins in the same position he’d found them in upon his arrival. Evan sat with his arms around Evelyn, cheek resting atop her mess of pale curls as she looked as guilty as any criminal Adair had ever seen.

He approached them, footfalls quieting as he crossed from polished marble onto thick Orlesian carpet. “Evan,” the Knight Commander said gently, “would you please go find Horsemaster Rennard?”

His son looked at him like he’d grown a second head a moment, incredulity the likes of which only a seven year old could muster brightening his eyes. Adair wasn’t about to argue. He needed to speak with his daughter alone, no matter how close the twins were.

“Now,” he urged, and the boy reluctantly withdrew his embrace from his sister and slid off of the couch, walking quietly and slowly toward the door.

Adair watched him go, and when his son was completely out of sight he turned back around to find Evelyn looking up at him with wide, watery eyes.

“You’re not going to kill me, right daddy?”

Maker, what? No!

Startled by the question, Adair shook his head once, firmly. “Absolutely not, Evelyn. What happened was an accident,” he removed his sword belt, setting the heavy steel down on the chair opposite the settee before he moved to sit down beside his youngest child, “wasn’t it?”

Evelyn nodded emphatically, curls bouncing up and down as fresh tears sprung to her eyes.

“Can you tell me what happened? From the beginning?”

She nodded again, speaking brokenly as she tried to work her words around her budding tears. “I was outside playing with Evan when he started talking and said he wanted to play too. I told Evan to make it fair we should play hide-and-seek. I was it, and I found him in the ballroom last. He broke the rules. The house is off limits!”

Adair nodded, used to the grand retelling of events that his children were wont to weave at a moment’s notice. There was no detail too small to pass up.

As for Evelyn speaking to what he assumed later became the Rage demon, he was unsurprised. She had always babbled at nothing when she was a babe, eyes tracking seemingly empty space in her younger years until she was finally able to speak. He’d made a point of asking about the things that spoke to her after she began to tell him, trying to discern whether he should take her to the Circle for her own safety. Ultimately, he’d decided her abilities were harmless, though the Templar side of his nature was made deeply uneasy by them. She had told him once a story about Valor - that the spirit visited her often when she went to sleep.

This was the first he’d heard, however, of a demon speaking to his daughter, and he knew in his heart that this was the beginning. After today, he’d have to tell Evelyn and Evan that they needed to come stay with him at the Circle - for their own safety where they could learn to cope and control their burgeoning talents.

“When you found him in the ballroom,” Adair asked, folding his fingers together to lean forward, elbows resting on his knees, to meet Evelyn’s eyes, “what did he do?”

“He said it wasn’t a fair game because I could see him, but Evan couldn’t.” She scrunched her nose, lips turning down in a small frown as she recalled what happened to her. “I started to feel funny, and then Peter came in.”

Adair suppressed a shudder at the thought of a demon attempting to possess Evelyn. Thank the Maker Peter had interrupted when he had, though he’d suffered because of it. “And did he hurt Peter?”

Evelyn nodded, fat tears spilling from her eyes and falling down her cheeks. Sniffling, she scooted closer to Adair, and the Knight Commander-turned-father lifted her into his arms and hugged her close. No matter how sick and terrible he felt at the entire ordeal, he could only imagine how Evelyn must be feeling. There was not a mean-spirited bone in her entire body, and seeing her brother injured over something she had caused, however unintentionally, must have hurt. She might have been young, but she was smart enough to understand the severity of the situation.

“Is he going to die?” Evelyn asked, small voice muffled against Adair’s breastplate.

He patted her back, holding her as he stood and began walking toward the study. “No, he’s not going to die. Your mother said he would be fine after one of the Senior Enchanters looked after him.”

“Does she hate me?”

“Your mother?”

Evelyn nodded, and Adair frowned. “Of course she doesn’t. Sweetheart, this was an accident, and accidents like this happen all the time with mages.”

She didn’t respond for a moment, hiding herself against his armor. “Can I see Peter?”

Adair walked by the office door, sensing Louisa’s magic behind it and knowing she was doing her best to keep Peter comfortable while they waited for the Senior Enchanter to arrive.

“Let’s wait until he’s feeling a little better. Why don’t we talk a walk in the garden in the meantime?”

It was an hour before Adair and Evelyn returned, the youngest Trevelyan appearing far less upset, though she was still serious. She purposefully walked in front of her father, striding right to the office door to rap on the dark wood with tiny knuckles. Louisa opened the door and smiled down at Evelyn before straightening to motion both of them inside. Hemming, Adair's second Knight Captain, nodded to the both of them before slipping outside the room.

Adair closed the door quietly behind him, folding Louisa against his body with a sigh.

“Did you tell her?” She whispered lowly.

“Not yet. We’ll give her a day to get over this. I don’t want it to feel like a punishment,” Adair replied.

She nodded, seeming to approve of his decision. Even though Adair was the bloody Knight Commander, he would forever need Louisa’s approval for everything.

“Are you feeling better?” Evelyn asked immediately as she crossed the threshold, zeroing in on Peter’s exhausted countenance.

Peter snorted from where he lay on the daybed situated in the far corner, rolling his head to the side to regard his baby sister with a roll of his eyes. “Never better. Why do you ask? Do I look sick or something?”

Evelyn was not impressed with his flippancy, frowning as she poked him square in the ribs. When he yelped, her irritated expression fell into one of extreme worry, and in a panic she looked between Peter and her parents as if the merest touch of her fingers was enough to kill him.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Peter rasped, trying his best to soothe Evelyn’s worry. “It’s just like having a bad sunburn, I promise. It’ll get better.”

Evelyn crawled up onto the bed, inserting herself very carefully beside her brother. “It’s really just like a sunburn?”

“Mmmhm! And consider this, given the current direction of my questionable life choices, it’s very likely that this experience has done a great job in preparing me for hel-”

“Peter!” Louisa admonished, though he shared a guilty smile with Evelyn.

“I’ll just make you peel me as punishment,” he whispered darkly, laughing at the immediate look of disgust that morphed her features.

“Eww!”


End file.
